Tonight I was fixing myself a bowl of ice cream and discovered that the cap to the chocolate sauce was on the counter rather than on the bottle. The following exchange took place:

ABBY: Hon, do you have any insight as to why the chocolate sauce cap was on the counter?
DAN: Hmm… chocolate elves?
ABBY: Chocolate elves, huh? I dunno, I’ve never seen any chocolate elves. I was thinking more like, the last person who had some ice cream neglected to put the cap back on the bottle.
DAN: Yes, like I said, it was the chocolate elves!
ABBY: Uh huh. Chocolate elves. You know who I think the chocolate elf is here? “Twist me and turn me and show me the elf…”

And then I realized that not only is that not a reference he’ll get, it’s a reference that maybe three other people will get. *waves to her mother and sisters* How to prove yourself a contender for all time biggest dork ever: Get the last word in an argument by invoking cheesy Girl Scout ceremonies.

(The Explanation: Brownie Girl Scouts (grades 1-3) have a story, about a household where the chores never get done. The poor overworked mother says, “Oh, if only we had a brownie!” “What’s a brownie?” the kids ask. Mom explains. “A brownie is a little elf that helps with keeping the house clean and neat.” When the daughter asks how they could get one, Mom sends her to ask the owl in the woods. The owl directs her to stand next to a special pond, turn around three times, and recite a charm. “Twist me and turn me and show me the elf, I looked in the water and saw…” and to look into the pool, where she will find the brownie. The girl does this, but it doesn’t appear to work. She goes back to the owl and says “I did it all, but when I looked in the water I only saw myself!” The owl says “Uh huh, and does that fit in the rhyme?” “Twist me and turn me and show me the elf, I looked in the water and saw… myself. But I’m not a brownie!” The owl points out that she could act like one, and she and her brother become reformed characters, picking up all the household mess before their mom wakes up the next morning.

There’s a ceremony based around the story, whereby each new Brownie looks into a mirror placed on the floor and realizes that she is indeed a Brownie. It’s cute when the six-year-olds do it, honest.

Story very loosely paraphrased from the Brownie Handbook.)